It’s funny that we sacrifice sleep both in times of great stress and when we’re supposed to be relaxing the most. It isn’t good for us and if anything, we should be enjoying festivities feeling well rested.
If you feel worn out you may start to feel desperate, as the holidays get closer. The solution is simpler than you think. Read on to find out how simple getting perfect rest during the hectic holiday season can really be.
The Stress Cycle
Feeling rough around the edges during the holidays is common and unfortunately for most, not understood. Most people consider stress a normal part of the holidays but it isn’t and shouldn’t be. The actual cause is often as simple as how much sleep you’re getting. The dinners, parties and planning are likely to keep anyone up at night. There’s so much going on it’s natural for anyone to struggle but by not sleeping, you’re making it worse. Running on fumes will trap you in a cycle of feeling drained and stressed. There are some good habits you can adopt though that will decrease your stress while increasing the quality of your sleep:
- Exercise – Intense activity during the day, even for short periods will help your body want to sleep.
- Moderation – Don’t go overboard with drinking, snacking or partying. They can all affect your sleep negatively. Eating and drinking late at night can carry over and ruin your sleep.
- Wind down – Make time to ease into sleep. Decrease your activity in the afternoon and make your environment as conducive to sleep as possible – lots of natural light and little to no noise.
- Digging deeper
There could be plenty of other things throwing your sleep off. You could have Sleep Apnea or be getting seasonal allergies. Remember to try to lower your stress level and allot rest the time it deserves. If you find you’re waking up during the middle of the night or having trouble breathing, make sure to see your doctor. The stress can compound or amplify any mild sinus condition and nipping it at the bud will ensure it doesn’t linger and get worse as the holidays draw to a close. If you have Sleep Apnea, remember the above point about moderation. Being responsible with your CPAP machine is hard when overindulging and the effects of being off your prescribed routine can be felt for days.
Time of Cheer
The simple secret to avoiding stress during the holidays is to make time and focus on the quality of your sleep. It isn’t hard and only requires a bit of effort from you with a huge pay off. At a certain point we let the holidays get the best of us and we almost stress for the sake of being stressed. It doesn’t have to be that way and there’s no reason why you can’t spread holiday cheer without having the energy to do so. Questions about sleep apnea? Please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.